iGod

'Red Rev' Giles Fraser?

Just reflecting about the resigination of the Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, Rev Dr Giles Fraser. While left-leaning The Guardian fetes the man, I hear, maybe not surprisingly, the Daily Telegraph takes another view.

Whatever side you take, he typifies the need for the Christian to speak up and get involved in politics and injustice, even when it doesn't always make you universally popular with your own peers.

US Christian activist Shane Clairborne says:

"Theologian Karl Barth said, 'We have to read the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other.' For too long we Christians have used our faith as a ticket out of this world rather than fuel to engage it.

"In his parables, Jesus wasn’t offering pie-in-the-sky theology… he was talking about the real stuff of earth. He talks about wages, debt, widows and orphans, unjust business owners and bad politicians. In fact Woody Guthrie breaks it all down in his song “Jesus Christ.” The song ends with Woody singing, “This song was written in New York City. If Jesus were to preach what he preached in Galilee, they would lay him in his grave again.”

"The more I read the Gospels, the more they seem to confront the very patterns of the world we live in. At one point Mary, pregnant with Jesus cries out: “God casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly… God fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty…”. You can’t help but think if she were alive in contemporary America some folks would try to accuse the Virgin Mother of being Marxist or promoting class warfare. But all through Scripture we see this–over 2000 verses about how God cares for the poor and most vulnerable.

"What would Jesus say about Wall Street?"

 What would Jesus say about the Square MIle?

Would he be for locking up St Paul's Catherdral or for an open air church service?

The thing I am taking away is that if we want our message to be heard we have to first hear what culture is saying. This is not so much about wanting to sound populist like a politician, but to help us avoid sounding pompous like an old fogey.

May God grant us wisdom and courage in these times!

ASD

10 Commandments for Church Planters and Pastors

A cracking top ten by Rich Nathan, Senior pastor of Vineyard Columbus, Ohio:

Pastors and church planters face enormous demands as we try to juggle family responsibilities, ministry, and often, school and part-time jobs. How can we live sustainable lives? We read of tragic pastoral failures on a weekly basis. Most pastors don’t last in the ministry for five years (perhaps the only way we pastors are like pro football players!). I’ve been a pastor for 25 years. Here are ten practices that have enabled me to pastor for the long-haul.

#1 Build a rock-solid daily personal devotional life with God. This simply means that you spend time every day soaking in God’s presence. You can handle an enormous amount of pressure, if your foundation is solid. Pressure is not the problem. Weak foundations are the problem. If your foundation is shaky, you won’t be able to handle very much at all. Maybe you’ve heard the expression: “You can’t fire a cannon out of a canoe.” If you are really going to accomplish something; if you are going to be able to achieve and do the great things that God has in store for you to achieve and do, you need a strong foundation. The cannon of your life needs to be bolted into granite. And the granite of your life is your rock-solid personal time with God every day.

#2 Choose a prayer partner, who is a peer and with whom you can be utterly transparent. What I have personally done in my own life for the past 20 years and what we require of every pastor on the staff of Vineyard Columbus is to have a prayer partner. At Vineyard Columbus we take one day every month outside of the office talking and praying with our prayer partner. We have a set of accountability questions that we ask each other such as:

a. Are you struggling with sexual purity in any way?
b. Have you seen any pornography, or anything on TV or in a movie that you shouldn’t have watched?
c. Have you done anything sexually you shouldn’t have done?
d. Are there any emotional attachments forming with someone who is not your spouse?
e. Have you handled your money and financial dealings with absolute integrity?
f. Have you experienced any breach in any relationship? Are you at peace with everyone?
g. Have you forgiven everyone for everything?
h. Are you experiencing intimacy with God on a regular basis?

#3 If you are married, schedule a weekly date night with your spouse. It is really important to stay current and to fuel romance and intimacy with your spouse. My wife and I have a regular date every Monday. It doesn’t need to be expensive. It could be coffee and a long walk through a park or a leisurely breakfast. But schedule a weekly date with your spouse outside your home.

#4 Get financial counseling from a professional financial counselor. Strongly consider (if you are married, with your spouse) going to a course like Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Life is sustainable when your financial house is in order.

#5 Ruthlessly avoid all compromising situations with the opposite sex. There are few things that derail people from the plan of God more than sexual impurity. Jim Downing, who is one of the patriarchs of the Navigator organization, was asked some years ago: Why is it that so few people finish well? His response was profound. He said: “They learn the possibility of being fruitful without being pure. They begin to believe that purity doesn’t matter. Eventually, they become like trees rotting inside that are eventually toppled by a storm.” Live a sexually pure life.

#6 Take care of yourself physically. Join a gym. Get into the habit of walking with a friend. Watch your diet. It is not enough that you’re involved in ministry. It is not even enough that you grow in internal purity and intimacy with God. You are a whole person. Your life is integrated - body, soul and spirit. You cannot neglect your body or your emotional life and continue to do well. So, take care of yourself physically.

#7 Do not confuse knowledge or skills or giftedness for spiritual maturity. You are gifted. You may know a lot. You may help many people. None of those things are the same as spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is a matter of your internal character, your honesty, your willingness to forgive everyone for everything, your joy during trials, your trust in the sovereignty of God, your endurance in hard times, and your unwillingness to compromise integrity. Don’t confuse knowledge or skills or giftedness for spiritual maturity.

#8 If you are married, take a great marriage inventory with your spouse and have a professional marriage counselor discuss the results with you. Here at Vineyard Columbus we offer a marriage inventory called LIMRI. We have regular marriage retreats. Do a marriage inventory especially at the front-end of pastoring, and every few years after that.

#9 Join a small group (and if married, join with your spouse). Christianity is a team sport. We cannot grow successfully apart from biblical community. Join a men’s group, a women’s group, a coed group, or a recovery group where you can know and be known.

#10 Cultivate the fear of the Lord and a fear of sin. We sinners always dreadfully under-estimate the cost of sin and dreadfully over-estimate our ability to manage the consequences after we choose to sin. Sin costs and once you choose to sin, the consequences are out of your hands. We read in Proverbs 14.26-27, He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children I will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

Deuteronomy 10.12-13 says, And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

Psalm 34.9 tells us this: Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.

Psalm 128:1 says: Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways.

 

ASD

Are you an introverted leader? We need you.

Many years ago when I was a fresh-faced Assistant Pastor I was at a Wednesday morning prayer meeting with other local church leaders. it was the time of the Toronto Blessing and I was with lots of enthusiastic leaders from other church denominations.

Some I remember prayed extremely long eloquent prayers. Others looked like they were about to burst a vein with wanting more of what the Lord was doing. Now it might have just have been me, but In a totally male environment there seemed to be an ever so slightly covert competition taking place with who could pray the biggest, longest, most dynamic prayer. 

Meanwhile, in the quiet corner there was the staff from our Vineyard who, on the whole, were quite quiet, reflective with low-pitched, but nevertheless passionate prayers.

One of our guys said to me on the walk back to our offices afterwards, rather sheepishy, that if he had been in a couple of the churches present he doubted whether he would have been noticed as someone who has any pastoral leadership potential. He felt a charismatic personality was the only way to get noticed in them. I have a horrid feeling he might have been right.

I have often thought about this self-disclosing comment over the years. I wonder if we do notice more those who gush enthusiasm by the bucket loads and talk a great talk and appear God's gift to the Church more than the quiet ones.

So who really makes the bigger difference in the Kingdom? Of course, that it is totally a hypothetical question, and not ours to answer, but we do have eyes to see the shepherd boy before the man of handsome appearance (David and Saul).

If we are being authentic leaders we do not need to play the game. We are here as servants of the crown, not as champions in a spiritual tournament. Of course, the noisy ones get noticed, but I am more interested in the ones who quietly get on with the business week in, week out.

Wimber taught us that if we want to see healthy churches we need to see the person's character before their gifting. It is something that probably above all else I have taken to heart over the years. I have seen sadly how strong personalities have created weak churches. It is not pretty to see, as often good people get their spirits crushed and lose heart...and sometime lose their faith.

A strong personality does not necessarily equate to a strong godly character. 

It might also be a cover up for a whole set of deep insecurities or dare I say a substitute for other pastoral weaknesses.  Now, I am not against extrovert leaders per see. (I am not exactly quiet myself.) In fact, church history is full of people who have been loud, full on and highly effective. However, we do need to have room for the introverted leader too. They will bring the reflective, thoughtful balance that we need if we are to encourage other potential leaders to step forward and take risks with their faith. 

In the sermon on the mount Jesus talks about letting our light shine before men (and women). Here he is talking about our actions, not just our words (Matt 5:16).

We all have the capacity to create light, albeit artificial, and so therefore we have to make it our aim to try that much harder to be a true light that shines before people which reflects the character of Jesus and causes those around to worship him for all he is.

If you have time, you might like to read this article by Adam McHugh.

Long live the introverted leader. God bless you. We so need you.

ASD

 

 

 

Joe Boyd's Top Ten Tips for Church Leaders

I have been following a great series by Joe Boyd from Cincinnati Vineyard where he has been expounding on his top 10 tips for young church leaders:

1. Prepare to struggle.

2. It's a calling, not a career.

3. Big dreams are a tricky thing.

4. Make sure you are preaching the right gospel.

5. Woo your city.

6. Decide whom you will offend before offending them.

7. Get serious about a hobby.

8. Influence.

9. Be part of your own church.

10. Don't let people need you too much.

He has now come to the end of his series with his last point: Don't let people need you too much. Regardless of where you are or denomination there are some real nuggets in here. I have also appreciated the many challenging comments it has attracted.

I find his last paragraph particularly wise:

"God may have me at The Vineyard for the rest of my life. I think longevity is a virtue and I'd love to be known as a leader who has staying power. But staying in the same place doesn't mean staying the same. The longer I am here, the more I need to become dispensable. Many pastors fall into "old world" thinking. They need to be needed. It not only feeds their egos, but it provides a sometimes-real sense of security. "If they need me, they won't get rid of me." This might be a good way to think in the corporate world, but this isn't a career...it's a calling. Your job is to be faithful to it."

For any young or aspiring servant-leaders out there, these thoughts are really worth filing away somewhere. They could be easily be entitled: How to see your church grow up healthily.

ASD

The Vineyard - a movement moving on or standing still?

I returned from last week's Vineyard National Leaders Conference in Bognor Regis to be asked if anything significant happened. I think some were probably expecting me to maybe relay stories of healing, but actually as weeks go it was significant in another way.

Not least because the question was asked whether Vineyard movement had any 'move' left in it.

It caused a lot of dinner time conversation. Some new to the Vineyard family asked whether there was something they should know. It was interesting how unaware many were to what was happening Stateside. Thanks to Andrew Jones at Tall Skinny Kiwi I got a heads up before the week.

UK Vineyard senior pastor Jason Clark has already started the conversation over at Deep Church and this has been picked up by Jason Coker at Pastoralia.

I echo the sentiment that it is timely to reassess/reaffirm the 10 distinctives brought afresh to us by UK & Ireland National Director John Mumford. It has got to be a healthy thing to look again at the reasons why we joined the Vineyard and remain in it, and why many others still want to become part of it.

Lest, we were under the illusion that we stopped being seen as radical by others. It certainly is not my own perception in south Suffolk.

It struck me last week how much the Vineyard, through John Wimber's selfless example, has kept emptying its own pockets to fill the pockets of others. It has given at great sacrifice. Sometimes, it might be argued, too much.

Many denominations and new church groups have been affected in some way, shape or form. New Wine, Soul Survivor, HTB, Alpha, New Frontiers and Hillsongs all apparently pay testament to that.

However, the thought that John Wimber could potentially become some faux holy relic truly horrifies me. But where I find comfort is in the roots of the Methodist Church, which historians tell us only really took off once it's founder John Wesley died.

It was suggested by Caleb Maskill, a church historian and church planter himself, that we were moving from being a 'renewal movement to a church movement'. I know this statement has already caused some consternation, but it deserves reflection.

I would encourage those of us in the Vineyard movement to be open to the debate, but I would also welcome other's perspectives too. 

Caleb spoke from Luke 15, where he suggested that a tree which has always been fruitful will naturally have to be pruned. But you only prune healthy trees. If the tree has rotten branches or is dead you pull it out of the ground.

The fact that Vineyard has borne much fruit over the years should not surprise us now that we are going through a time of pruning. We might find all sorts of sociological language to describe this, but undoubtedly we are in a time of natural transition nevertheless. My only surprise has been that it has not come sooner.

Caleb went on to conclude that pruning happens in winter time. I hope I am representing Caleb's thought right here, but I think he was suggesting that Winter is a known metaphor for loneliness and suffering amongst other things. Pruning is not without its pain. However, it is perceived by others that there are fresh buds already appearing, so we will wait and see.

One thing I would say is that the British Vineyard has been allowed to grow organically and so has, perhaps, escaped some of the suggested identity crisis of our dear friends in the US. Maybe if 'Vineyard worship' had emanated here, not in California, we would be suffering more too. However, as a 'body' we all share in each other's pain.

I look forward to watching the debate unfold on both sides of the channel. And, as my own thoughts emerge, as a young church planter of just two years, will share them here for what they are worth.

ASD

John's Stott's very last book

I can't fully remember the first time I read John Stott. However, I know that his writing has a lasting impact on my ministry and hopefully those in my beloved church that I have the privilege of leading.

His books have continued to engage me and stretch my mind to think biblically and culturally. He has challenged my on my biblical understanding of Heaven and Hell and help revolutionise my perceptions of what it is to minister to a broken world through compassion and justice.

I was privileged to hear John at a chapel service while I was at college where, unlike other guest speakers, he used a New Testament Greek version to speak from. I was in awe as I sat there colouring in the pretty pictures of my Good News Bible.

What struck me most was his expectation that every student would have the same hunger to go as deep into the theological issues as him.

The post-war Evangelical Church owes so much to John. He has continually brought balance, especially where Evangelicalism has latterly been affected by short-sighted culture-bound thinking, i.e. prosperity teaching.

John has also demonstrated how to make theology accessible to all, a gift not insignificant, often bringing much needed clarity to tricky subjects. A sure sign that he has got to grips with the issues and wrestled with them.

So now I hear from Mark Meynell at All Souls, London that John Stott has written his absolute final book. (At 89 years old, I think we can all let him put down his pen now, don't you?)

According to Mark, his new book, The Radical Disciple is not so much new material as a reflection of things we may have heard or read elsewhere. What is remarkable is, as a man in in ninth decade, he still wants to be seen as a radical disciple!

I borrow from Mark's excellent blog for an outline of themes covered in the book:

1. Non-Conformity: “we are neither to seek to preserve our holiness by escaping from the world nor to sacrifice our holiness by conforming to the world” (p19)
2. Christlikeness: “we are to be like Christ in his incarnation, in his service, in his love, in his endurance, and in his mission” (p38)
3. Maturity: “may God give us such a full, clear vision of Jesus Christ, first that we may grow into maturity ourselves, and secondly that, by faithful proclamation of Christ in his fullness to others, we may present others mature as well.” (p53)
4. Creation-Care: “God intends our care of the creation to reflect our love for the Creator” (p65)
5. Simplicity: “All Christians claim to have received a new life from Jesus Christ. What lifestyle, then, is appropriate for them? If the life is new, the lifestyle should be new also” (p71)
6. Balance: “We are both individual disciples and church members, both worshippers and witnesses, both pilgrims and citizens. Nearly all our failures stem from the ease with which we forget our comprehensive identity as disciples.” (p102)
7. Dependence: “We are all designed to be a burden to others… The life of the family, including the life of the local church family, should be one of ‘mutual burdensomeness.‘” (p113)
8. Death: “If we want to live we must die. And we will be willing to die only when we see the glories of the life to which death leads. This is the radical, paradoxical Christian perspective.” (p135)

Mark also makes a useful comment on the symmetry of John supposedly last book at the time The Living Church with The Radical Disciple:

• In The Living Church, he expounds the key hallmarks of what constitutes Church life, in all its diversity, challenges and joys.
• In The Radical Disciple, he expounds the key hallmarks of a Christian’s life, again in all its diversity, challenges and joys.

One for the bookshelf.

Meanwhile, I am off down to the Vineyard National Leaders Conference in Butlins, Bognor Regis this week. Undoubtedly, I will see the effect this much loved pastor-theologian has had on our young movement in one way, shape or form among us.

I'll bring you back a stick of rock.

ASD

Church planting mistakes - yup, we all make 'em

I don't often write about my experiences as a Vineyard church planter. I sort of think most people in regular civvy life, Christian or non-Christian are not that interested, so if you aren't a leader and want to pop off and see how we are doing in the Cricket, I'll forgive you.

Still there?

I have put some thoughts from a church planting coach below, which I pass on to any other would-be church planter mad enough to answer the call.

But I have to first add that I recognise some reading this might think it is a weird thing to do.  Surely I could find myself a nice quiet hobby. For others, in a more traditional setting, they, perhaps, don't understand why I am not now ordained in the Church of England and making life easier for myself.

But the truth is I love the Vineyard's values and it has been instrumental in keeping me in the Church at a time when I was on the point of giving up. So it is not just a channel of service or an option, but my family. That is not to say the Vineyard is perfect. Far from it. But it one wonderful expression of the beautiful thing we call the Church.

So I find myself church planting because I love the Church and feel it is the best way to reach people with the good news I received myself - that being the gospel of Jesus Christ. To Him I am eternally grateful.

However, many church plants fail and that bothers me. I am told that for every three new churches started in the UK three are closed. If that statistic is true it is deeply depressing. So what can cause a church plant to stumble?

Via Rick Warren. David Putnam, a pastor at Mountain Lake Church, Stateside, makes some worthwhile quick-fire observations regarding:

1.  Underestimating the cost

2.  Violating the Sabbath

3.  Hanging on too long

4.  Not having a coach

Although you may need to read this through the lens of your own church situation, one thing that particular stood out at me was the fact that church planters want to rush ahead. David says:

"Most of us quick-start church-planter types are driven by the urgency of the calendar. We tend to focus on a launch date, and regardless if we are ready or not, we launch. Instead of being driven by the calendar, it would serve us well to be driven by milestones. Milestones focus on the accomplishment of strategic actions."

We can also look around and secretly harbour thoughts to be like such-and-such church down the road. It can become our model and benchmark for what we want our church to look like. The result? it can make us disappointed, ungrateful people.

When Jesus describes Peter as 'the rock' the Church would be built upon in Matthew 16:18 I have to smile. In Matthew's gospel Peter doesn't seem to fit the bill at all.  Not someone who you would naturally think is solid, reliable and go the distance.

You might also think, as Peter might himself, that Jesus was a lousy judge of character. But God in his infinite wisdom knows better. 

Peter made some mistakes, but was used amazingly by God. Any church planter should take encouragement from this example.

I have found a piece of old advice given by Vineyard's founder John Wimber to pastor Lance Pitluck (Anaheim Vineyard) useful and I pass it on as a last thought before the weekend:

"If you have oak, build with oak. If you have bamboo, build with bamboo."

In other words, be content with what you've got.

Whatever you have, the church still gets built. If He is in the centre of the plan and the plan is His, relax.  it might not look as you first might imagined or dreamed, but, hey, we go with it and enjoy the ride!

ASD

 

In Search of Perfection

I’d be a big fibber if I told you I didn’t like good food. The trouble is I’ve got a champagne taste and ginger pop money. Nevertheless, it doesn’t stop me from enjoying the foodie programmes and the odd culinary indulgence.

On Monday I watched Nigella Lawson do her goddess thing by suggesting that whatever you find in your fridge you can do something amazing with it. Unfortunately, when she opened her fridge it had little resemblance to mine.  I am happy for her that she “never gets fazed with doing impromptu entertaining for guests that drop in” But for me she is hardly the people’s cook.

I suspect that crown belongs to affable Essex boy Jamie Oliver, a crown once worn by Delia Smith and Marguerite Pattern. And he does turn out a good book of recipes. His programme is also currently on and called Jamie’s Garden. Worth a watch. Though the graphics are dead annoying.

But the guy I personally like knocking up something in the kitchen is Heston Blumenthal, or as Terry Wogan calls him, “Heston Bloomin’ ‘eck”.. His new  programme is on Tuesdays, BBC2 and called In Search of Perfection.

The man is a genius.

He has been described as the man who got lost on the way to the science lab and found himself in the kitchen.

Last night saw him go in search of the perfect burger. He scours the world, tests beef for the perfect tissue texture, blends, wraps, freezes, calculates bite size, experiments with elasticity, and emulsifies proteins and fats with sodium citrate. Dontcha just want one now?

The problem is a burger is a burger. It is a fast-food experience. So all this effort would seem slightly contradictory.

Being a perfectionist is a blessing and a curse. At worse, it makes you intolerant of someone who is less able than you and becomes a nightmare for all people around. At best, it means that you are driven to give the best experience possible and aspires others to aim higher for themselves.

As a church pastor, and being prone to perfectionism, I have really had to get my head together on this one.

Although perfectionism is admired, much like Heston’s wizardry, it can also have the adverse effect of putting people off from even picking up a ladle in the kitchen for a fear of anything they do will not be good enough. Yet, we value good cooking, because the pay off is so rewarding.

In church terms, the leader is not there to be the master chef. That title belongs to Jesus.Our Bibles all say he is the only perfect one that has ever lived. Perfectionism implies that weakness or deficiency is not allowed. So perhaps the ism in perfectionism needs to be tackled as a condition or disease.

To be in search of the perfect is not bad, as we all aspire to be better people, but to claim we have got it perhaps is another thing.

The problem is we can find it hard to see anyone who can do the job as well or better.  Our defence against this condition is to continually humble ourselves before the Perfect One. By default, our own unworthiness will appear and pride will dissipate.

The job of any leader is to encourage new Christians to feel that anyone can do what we can do. That means lowering the bar so everyone can jump over.

Otherwise, how will we ever grow our churches? The Anglican Church talks famously about the "priesthood of all believers". In the Vineyard we say "everybody gets to play!" It all the means the same. Like food, ministry needs to be democratised and not made to be an elite activity.

Something to chew over.

ASD